May 26, 2009
UK group to fight against new livestock pollution rules
The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is fighting to get pig and poultry businesses exempted from tough EU environmental rules, which were originally targeted at heavy industries such as power stations.
Changes to the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive could see more small pig and poultry farms in the UK, as well as those with feed mills and current IPPC farmers, being burdened with new red tape.
In letters to the Czech Presidency and Commissioners Mariann Fischer Boel and Starvros Dimas, the NFU said the directive is inappropriate for agriculture.
Many farms are one or two-person operations with little manpower to handle the demands of the directive, the NFU said.
Also, farming in comparison to other industries poses a small risk to the environment and has limited capacity to reduce emissions, the NFU claimed.
The latest draft, which includes typical family farms with 200 sows each, would have a devastating impact on the pig sector, the NFU said.
The new rules would also mean new monitoring requirements, which may compromise animal welfare, the group said.
